I'm using a Microsoft Exchange email address but it often asks me to re-enter my password multiple times. How can I fix this?

Question

My Microsoft Exchange email account in Outlook keeps on asking me for my password. It works fine for a few days then it does it again. How can I fix this?

Answer 1

Dear @Ken Clarke

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum!

Based on your description, Outlook repeatedly asking for the password on a Microsoft Exchange account which is usually related to authentication or credential caching problems. There are several reasons that may cause it:

• Credential Manager Issues: cached credentials in Windows Credential Manager may be corrupted or outdated.
• Modern Authentication / Basic Auth Conflict: if the environment uses Modern Authentication but Outlook is falling back to Basic Authentication, it may cause repeated prompts.
• Token expiry or MFA: if MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) or conditional access policies are in place, expired tokens may trigger password prompts.
• Profile corruption: a damaged Outlook profile may lead to repeated authentication requests.
• Network or Proxy Settings: unstable network or incorrect proxy settings may interrupt the authentication handshake.

Therefore, I have several suggestions that you can try to see if they help (Please make sure Outlook is updated to the latest version. Older builds may cause this issue):

1.Clear cached credentials:

• Close Microsoft Outlook.
• Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
• Type "control" and press Enter to open the Control Panel.
• Go to User Accounts > Credential Manager.
• Select the Windows Credentials tab.
• Find any entries related to Microsoft Outlook or Office 365 and remove them.
• Restart Outlook and try logging in again.

2.You may need to repair Outlook to see if it can be fixed:

• Right-click the Start button (lower-left corner) and select Installed apps on the pop-up menu.
• Select the Microsoft 365 or Office product you want to repair, click the ellipses, and select Modify
• Depends on your Microsoft 365 or Office installation type (Click-to-run or MSI-based), you'll see the following options to proceed with the repair. Follow the steps for your installation type.

See more detals in this link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-an-office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b

3.Check MFA and Conditional Access (Please kindly contact your IT admin in your organization to check it if you don't have the right):

• If MFA is enabled, confirm the user is completing the MFA prompt correctly.
• Review conditional access policies that might force re-authentication.

References:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/policy-all-users-mfa-strength

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/monitoring-health/how-to-view-applied-conditional-access-policies?tabs=microsoft-entra-admin-center

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/managed-policies

4.Ensure Modern Authentication is enabled in Exchange Online or on-premises (Please kindly contact your IT admin in your organization to check it if you don't have the right).

Run the following command to enable modern authentication connections to Exchange Online by Outlook:

Set-OrganizationConfig -OAuth2ClientProfileEnabled $true

To verify the change was successful, run the following command:

Get-OrganizationConfig | Format-Table Name,OAuth* -Auto

If you use the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Org Settings > Modern Authentication.

Reference:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/clients-and-mobile-in-exchange-online/enable-or-disable-modern-authentication-in-exchange-online
• For on-prem: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/Exchange/plan-and-deploy/post-installation-tasks/enable-modern-auth-in-exchange-server-on-premises?view=exchserver-2019

5.Recreate new Outlook profile:

• Backup data.
• Go to Control Panel > Mail > Profiles.
• Create a new profile and reconfigure the account.

Or you can see this link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-an-outlook-profile-f544c1ba-3352-4b3b-be0b-8d42a540459d

6.You should check the internet and server connection to make sure you're using correct network. If you're using a work or school account, please check with your IT department that there are no network or server restrictions. If your organization uses a proxy server, incorrect settings can disrupt Office authentication. Ask your IT admin to check the proxy settings in your computer's network configuration.

If the issue still persists after trying these suggestions, please kindly try removing and re-adding your Outlook email account, see this: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/add-an-email-account-to-outlook-for-windows-6e27792a-9267-4aa4-8bb6-c84ef146101b#picktab=new_outlook

I hope this information can help you in this case and please feel free to update information in comment section.

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